Itay Ron , Ammar Muati , David Shaked Zari , Bezalel Peskin , Nabil Ghrayeb , Doron Norman , Jacob Shapira
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction
Hospital-acquired COVID-19 poses a significant threat to orthopedic patients, a population already at risk due to immobility, comorbidities, and extended hospital stays. The combined burden of musculoskeletal injury and SARS-CoV-2 infection may prolong recovery, increase complications, and influence survival. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of nosocomial COVID-19 on hospitalization outcomes in orthopedic patients.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary orthopedic center, analyzing patients hospitalized between 2020 and 2022. COVID-19-positive patients (n = 84) who acquired the infection during admission were matched 1:1 with uninfected controls (n = 84) based on age, gender, and BMI. Data were collected on demographics, comorbidities, hospitalization duration, complications, ICU transfers, and mortality outcomes. Statistical analysis included t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and significance set at p < 0.05.
Results
COVID-19-positive patients experienced significantly longer hospital stays (median 13.9 vs. 4.3 days, p < 0.001) and shorter time to death post-discharge (median 135 vs. 540 days, p = 0.027) compared to controls. Mortality rates were similar between groups (23.8 % vs. 22.6 %, p = 0.86), and ICU admissions occurred only in the COVID-19 group (3.3 %). Baseline characteristics and comorbidity profiles were comparable.
Conclusion
Orthopedic patients who contract COVID-19 during hospitalization face a prolonged hospital course and earlier mortality despite similar overall death rates. These findings highlight the importance of infection prevention strategies, including preoperative screening and deferring elective procedures in infected individuals, to mitigate complications associated with immobility, delayed recovery, and systemic decline.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Orthopaedics aims to be a leading journal in orthopaedics and contribute towards the improvement of quality of orthopedic health care. The journal publishes original research work and review articles related to different aspects of orthopaedics including Arthroplasty, Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, Trauma, Spine and Spinal deformities, Pediatric orthopaedics, limb reconstruction procedures, hand surgery, and orthopaedic oncology. It also publishes articles on continuing education, health-related information, case reports and letters to the editor. It is requested to note that the journal has an international readership and all submissions should be aimed at specifying something about the setting in which the work was conducted. Authors must also provide any specific reasons for the research and also provide an elaborate description of the results.